Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or FF13.

- Four hours ago -

She could feel the heat permeate through the rubber gloves, just like how one would poach chicken or eggs in a plastic bag. Not to mention she was getting a nice steam bath from all the hot water pouring out of the tap to cascade over the dirty dishes piled in her sink. Tifa liked cooking, so it made sense for her to open her own bar, which she did have previous experience with. It definitely was something valuable to add to her resume, along with taking SHINRA down. Employers would certainly feel relieved that she could whip up a mean cocktail or make the perfect pan friend behemoth steak. But… it was easier running her own business, setting her own hours, and for the small neighborhood bar, she only needed to pay wages to one employee; herself.

Sometimes, she wondered if she should have hired a helping hand. At the very least, someone to clean the dishes. It was a tedious and mind-numbing task, involving none of the creativity involved with the actual cooking. Or… she could just invest in a dishwasher. That would work. Tifa quickly recounted her numbers in her head, and found herself smiling knowing that she had more than enough funds. Business was good, and the people here loved her food.

The dishes suddenly didn't seem too bad. Humming softly to herself, Tifa glanced up at the clock and gave herself a slight shock. "Ohnononononono…" Tifa whispered hurriedly to herself as she staggered out of the kitchen, tripping up slightly as she tried to wrestle her apron off. She ran to the door, gasping at the heavy downpour outside that she'd somehow missed, ran back upstairs to grab an umbrella and raincoats for the kids before pouncing back down to the first level. The kids get off school at three thirty and it was already three twenty five. Plus it takes her ten to fifteen minutes just to walk there. The moment she stepped out, the rain pelted against the umbrella and her shoes were immediately soaked. Tifa rushed down the streets in a near jog, darting behind honking traffic. Looking up at the dark clouds, she pursed her lips and picked up her pace. It was dark, and the rain was miserable, but it didn't compare to how bad it had been under the plate. Her heart dropped though as she neared the school gates, catching sight of Marlene and Denzel huddled at the entrance. "Tifa!" Marlene yelled sporting a huge smile on her face as the fighter neared.

"I'm so sorry I'm late." Tifa huffed, quickly handing the raincoats over as she stole glances inside the school. It was nearly empty already, void of all children and parents save for a few stragglers just about to brave the storm.

"It's okay." Denzel responded, sliding on his own coat first before helping Tifa hold Marlene's backpack as she helps Marlene put on hers. "We were looking at the lightning."

"It's so cool!" Marlene cheers, grinning ear to ear.

"Really?" Tifa chuckles, "Aren't you scared?"

"No!" Rolling her eyes at the kids' antics, Tifa shuffled them onwards through the wet and rainy weather.

"Before we go home, we're going to have to stop by the grocery store." Everything was routine now, from the beginning of the day up until the end – a life that almost felt scripted – but she wasn't one to complain, and it would be ungrateful to do so. Even as she steps into the familiar store that she's now famous for frequenting, she has all the same smiles, the same nods, and the same greetings and gives them to the same people. Tifa walks down the same aisles, picks the same ingredients, and they're usually at their same affordable price. Everything was the same, and so she wasn't expecting any abrupt changes in her routine. That was why she nearly jumped when someone's arm came flying past her head from behind to rest against the shelf.

"Well," a painfully familiar and flirty voice said, "aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Twisting around, Tifa presse her back against the shelf in attempts to get away from the brown haired man leaning towards her. "Rydgea." The fighter bit out beneath her breath, "Fancy meeting you here."

"I can say the same thing." He responded although Tifa knew how much of a lie that was. Within her circle of friends, which he was minimally included in due to circumstantial reasons, they all knew she always came to this store for some unknown reason that even Tifa wasn't so sure of. Seeing that he's here now, she wonders why she made herself so predictable. The moment he started leaning closer into her, Tifa darted out from underneath his arm and pulled away. Catching the kids' wide eyes for a second, the fighter quickly directed her attention back onto the man.

"Shopping for… dinner?" Tifa asked, glancing at the boxed lunch tucked in his hand.

"Boss man has me working extra hours. Consider me on-call." Rydgea answered with a dramatic sigh, "Or else I'd be at your bar in a blink of an eye. I'm glad I ran into you here. I've got something to ask you."

"Oh… is that so…?"

"I got these tickets to-"

"Tifa?" Bless the kids and their doe-eyed innocence that could make anyone melt into a puddle of… fuzz? Tifa released a sigh of relief the moment Marlene interrupted, tugging on her arm lightly, "I want to go home."

"Sorry." Tifa gave the man a small apologetic smile, while secretly grateful for the interruption, yet concerned at the same time. "Duty calls."

"Alrighty mom." He winked, "I can walk you guys home-"

"That's quite alright." Tifa respectfully declined, guiding Marlene forward with a hand on the back, "I don't live far, and I'm sure you have a lot of work."

"H-Hey-" Before he could say anymore, Tifa gave him a courteous parting smile before she made her departure. Grabbing what little that she required, the fighter swiftly paid her dues and shuffled Marlene and Denzel off before Rydgea could catch up. Opening the umbrella, Tifa hastily attempted her escape, but it was all for naught. "Tifa! Wait up!"

He dashed out and stepped beneath Tifa's umbrella, which was also uncomfortably close. "I really should go-"

"I can't have you disappearing in the middle of a date."

A what? Tifa blinked. "I'd be pressed to call this a date." She stated, stepping away to put some distance back between themselves.

"Does that mean you're open for an actual offer for a real date?"

A what? "No." The fighter blurted and then fretted over her rude response, "I mean- it was a coincidence running into you here, and it's good to see you despite the shameless flirting, but I'm not-" Hopefully, he'd figure out she wasn't the biggest fan of him, but the moment he grinned, she knew that he wasn't going to give her a break.

"I like to call it fate."

"Fate…"

"Yeah, like we were meant to be." He continued on his cringe-worthy tirade. Tifa pursed her lips and gave both Denzel and Marlene a little helpless look that they returned. "So about those tickets-" One way to stop a man on a mission was to give him another one. When his phone abruptly rang, Tifa released a sigh of relief the moment he turned away to take the call. It was quick, and she barely caught his look of seriousness before the same boyish smile she sees every time takes over his face. He hung up and looked to Tifa as he scratched his back of his head, "I guess… duty calls."

"Then till next time." Tifa beamed, completely oblivious to the sparkling stars surrounding her he sees whenever she smiles so nicely at him.

"Y-Yeah…"

"Well then… Goodbye." She moved on, looking back to see him snap out of his trance before clumsily going off to do whatever duty he was called in for. He was a nice guy; happy, cheerful, and he was more than just infatuated with her. Rydgea was a GC operative, Raines' new right hand man ever since the dissolution of the Special Ops. In the three years after the fall of SHINRA, the Guardian Corps and AVALANCHE had established a new elected government while serving as its military arm. Her city was young, Edge they called it, but Tifa couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Everything AVALANCHE has fought for came to this, the physical representation of their success in breaking SHINRA's tyranny. She had a life here now, and there was no ounce of pride that she held back when she'd talk about her bar; Seventh Heaven, and ode to the past and days under the plate. Tifa relished in seeing how much things have changed. She only wish she could've shown Li-

A black body completely blindsided her when she reached the corner of the block and felt a shoulder ram into her chest. Her grip on the bag of groceries slipped but that was the least of her concern. The last thing she saw was the brick wall she was diving straight into and hastily threw her hands forward to catch herself. "Tifa!" She heard Marlene and Denzel call to her in concern.

The cool rain met her skin and the skin on her palms was scratched from catching herself on the brick wall. It stung lightly. "S-Sorry." Straightening herself, Tifa gave a reassuring smile to the kids before turning to see the person – the woman – who had ran her over hastily picking up all of the spilled groceries.

"It's okay." Tifa laughed lightly, hoping to ease the situation, "Everyone's in a rush to get out of the rain." Speaking of the rain, Tifa bent down to recover her umbrella.

"Sorry." The other woman apologized again as she placed the lost foods back into the bag.

"It's alright." Looking the other over, Tifa pursed her lips at the state the other was in. All of her clothes looked entirely soaked and she knew what it felt like to be lost in the freezing rain. She's been there once before, but someone had been there to show her kindness and warmth. Lightning wasn't here though, no matter how much Tifa wished for it. "I heard the storm's going to get worse." Tightening her grip on the hilt of the umbrella, Tifa held it up to her, "Here, I'm close to where I live anyways."

"No, I can't-" Ducking her head slightly, Tifa hoped to catch a better glimpse of the woman's face beneath her hood. Her face was covered by a scarf, but that was all Tifa could see before she sprinted away without another word. "H-Hey!" Tifa called out after, fretting if she had came across as creepy or offended her in some way. "Wait!" She didn't, and Tifa jolted in her spot when a group of soldiers charged after her, bumping Tifa's shoulders in their mad pursuit. She fought every innate fiber to run after them, but she had other responsibilities now. Resting her hands against Denzel and Marlene's back, she gave them a small push without ever taking her eyes away from where that woman had ran off to. "Let's go home." The walk home was brief, and wet, and seeing all the water and mud splattered over Marlene and Denzel's raincoats was a sure sign of more work. It was all worth it though, just to see the kids laugh in a way she would never have seen so in Midgar. "Take off your coats and boots and put them inside the tub." Tifa ordered when they were safe inside the dry and warm confines of their house, and like little soldiers the kids did as told.

Humming a soft little tune to herself, Tifa milled around the kitchen to make a small after school snack and flicked on the TV to listen to the afternoon news. Sometimes they'd see Barret on there talking about their negotiations with Wutai, sometimes she'll see Raines, but there were never any large news stories.

That was why the moment the news anchor appeared distracted, Tifa stopped all of her movements and watched intently. There were a flurry of background noise from the station, and everything then flashed with 'breaking news' slapped all over it. Guardian Corps. Unknown assailant. Chase on the highway. She nearly dropped her knife when she saw Cloud zipping down the road like some madman chasing velocycle with GC airships flanking his side. Tossing everything on the table, Tifa rushed to the TV grabbing the side, "Cloud!" Tifa knew he shouldn't have gotten that bike. It was like a death machine. Why couldn't he had gotten a nice, reasonable car? Like a truck or a nice minivan so he could drive the kids around and actually have enough room to put whatever he's supposed to deliver.

"Tifa?" Whipping around she saw the kids before she rushed towards the door.

"There's cup noodles in the pantry, I need to go out. Lock the door! Be back by tonight!" Tifa yelled over her shoulder before she dashed out into the streets and down towards the AVALANCHE base. Blood pounded in her ears, the rain streaked across her face, but she pushed her feet forward as fast as she could.

By the time she reached the base, Tifa was soaked from head to feet and barged straight into Barret's office. He was there, hunched over his computer gaping at the very story that had Tifa running top speeds here. "Barret!"

"Tifa!" He yelped, jumping back from the screen as his eyes darted up to her, "W-w-w-w-w-what is this! Explain!"

"Me?" Tifa interrupted, "I don't- wait, you don't know?"

"Know what? What the hell is happening?!"

"I don't know!"

"God damn it CLOUD!" Barret screamed, his face bright red with rage. She could intricately see all of his veins pop in his temple. His finger slammed on his phone before he barked loudly into the receiver, "Get me a transport and Raines! NOW!" Barret's chair toppled to the ground at his sudden movements, and Tifa knows a walking rampage when she sees one.

"I'm coming too." They opened Barret's door only to see Rydgea standing on the other end, leaning against the wall.

He pushed himself proper again, but unlike earlier, his expression was void of all cheer. Instead it was hard, "I'd like you two to come with me."

"You!" Barret snarled, however, Tifa stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Not now." Shaking her head, she motioned for the AVALANCHE leader to follow after Rydgea into a GC airship awaiting them outside. They remained silent throughout the entire trip and came to an eventual stop on the section Midgar Highway Tifa remembered seeing on the newscast. The flames on the highway were still being put out, and at least ten airships were parked in and around the area in front of the barricade blocking the path to the city.

"This way." Rydgea said, waving them over to a larger ship. They followed closely, wondering what sort of operation would require this many troops, and what exactly has been going on right beneath Barret's nose.

"You better have a good explanation for this." Barret huffed, glaring at all the soldiers that chanced across his path.

"We do." The GC answered surely and stopped before a door, "Tifa, if you would please go this way. Cloud should be inside already." Rydgea then moved on, "Barret, if you would please continue following me. We'll set up a conference with Raines for you in a separate room."

"Fine." Twisting around, Barret jabbed a finger at her, "You better grill Cloud alive for this. Y'hear me?!"

"Yeah…" She reasoned that she should probably be furious at the blond man, but at the moment, she couldn't help but be more concerned. Two years ago when their search for Lightning and Aerith weren't getting anywhere, Cloud and her had decided to leave active duty. Barret protested though, but Tifa couldn't find it in herself to continue. It was too painful to live every day in constant fear of the next. What was Cloud doing though? What has he been doing all this time without her knowing? Tifa stepped through the door and held her breath as it slid open silently.

She heard voices immediately; angry voices. "Where. Is. She?" Cloud's voice was tense, quivering and shaking terribly no matter how hard he tries to hide it.

"Safe." Came the response, calm and cold, and so unbearably familiar. Her world stood still. Lightning. Lightning. It had to be her. "I can take you to her, and I'm the only one that can." Suddenly, if felt as if she had been living her life in a bubble all along. She's long grown desensitized to the people and places around her, standing behind the bar to see exactly what the bar would allow her to see. That was her world, and she felt safe there. Her bar, her family; her life. The path towards the cell where Cloud's and Lightning's voices were coming from felt all the farther. It twisted in her eyes, on and on, and Tifa didn't know if she wanted to travel it.

"You didn't answer my question. Where-"

"I heard your question just fine." The voice and tone were undeniably Lightning's. "Why would I give you my leverage?"

"It's called regaining our trust." Cloud spat and Tifa felt her heart drop as if it were made of lead. Leverage? Lost trust? Swallowing thickly, Tifa forced her legs forward.

"Bullshit." Her feet stop at that patronizing tone, and she's heard it before. Everything that's being said, she's heard it from Lightning. "Your trust won't get me what I want. The Turks will. I took Aerith away-"

"You?!" Tifa flinched at Cloud's rage, and fought to shy away from how his voice echoed in the cold steel and metal surrounding them. Turks? Listening to them had allowed her to draw her own conclusions. It was as if time had rewound itself back, and she often wondered how life would've been if Lightning had been PSICOM instead. The Lightning she knew was proper, she was honest and kind. She would never… never betray them. Not to PSICOM. Not to Jihl. Not to SHINRA. Never to SHINRA because Lightning understood the pain and the loss suffered.

"Who else?"

Slowly, Tifa forced her legs to move but they felt detached; numb just like how helpless she had felt in Oerba. "You better pray to your goddamn Gods-"

Resting her hand against the steel frame, Tifa looked into the cell to see Cloud looming threateningly over someone else seated on the bench. "Pointless." She couldn't see, not yet. The woman sitting before Cloud, the woman who had stolen Lightning's voice, and Tifa prayed in that moment to whomever would hear her that this person wasn't Lightning. No one heard her, and Tifa remembered why she had never bothered praying to the Gods; they never listened.

She had the same hair, the same silvery rose-colored hair, the same face, and the same azure blue eyes that could make her world spin out of control just as easily as it could make it stop. Grief struck her first; a blow to her gut and Tifa couldn't even breathe properly anymore. Then betrayal. It was the worst kind of betrayal possible, when she realizes the person she has given herself to was nothing but a fraud. The anger came afterwards, flooding through her like a rapid torrential stream until she was consumed by it. "Who?" Tifa heard Cloud ask, but she didn't want to hear any explanations. She was absolutely positive that Lightning could make it sound all reasonable, but in the end, her words were nothing but excuses. "You're not-" Tifa didn't think. She didn't want to think or feel because all there was left to feel was pain. Storming through the door, she yanked on Cloud's shoulder roughly before delivering an unforgiveable blow straight at Lightning's cheek and watched with pure rage as the woman crashed onto the ground.

The heavy lump that sat in her throat refused to let her speak, her vision blurred from tears, and all Tifa truly realized was that she was so betrayed that she didn't know what to do. So she vented her anger in its rawest form. "Tifa!" Cloud's voice didn't register in her mind as she climbed over the fallen Lightning, seized her collar before slamming her fist down on her face again. "Tifa stop!" Cloud's hand closed around her arm when she wound up for the third time and she just crumpled beneath his strength. How could he be so strong even at a time like this? It wasn't his physical strength she admired, but a strength that was much more subtle. He released her, and Tifa finally blinked and freed herself from the tears she wanted so much to hold back. In her moment of clarity, Tifa saw Lightning's surprise and then the torn lip where blood escaped from the corner.

"Light…" She choked as she hesitantly brought her hand up to Lightning's cheek. The pale skin was rapidly darkening into an ugly purple, but the touch was still soft. Brushing the trail of crimson from Lightning's lip, Tifa watched as the color of red smeared. Lightning was here. Alive. Not some rotten corpse in a ditch. "Y-You're alive." Tifa collapsed, burying her face in the crook of Lightning's neck as if she could change reality. "I hate you." Tifa cried and her body trembled for the warmth she had yearned for, "I hate you so much." She wasn't able to remain there for long. Cloud's hands pulled her shoulders back, and guided her back onto her feet. "Light-"

"Tifa, no." Cloud stopped her when she wanted to help, so she fidgeted where she stood watching as Lightning levied herself up to sit properly without the use of her hands. Her anger left her for just a moment in place of concern. She was still furious with Lightning, but seeing the stiff bruise on her cheek was enough to tell her that she had already broken a few bones. As if afraid to let her any closer, Cloud pulled her back behind him to confront Lightning, "What do you have to say? To us?"

Neither her head nor body moved, but her glare fixated on Cloud, "Nothing."

"Then I'll go get a medic." Giving her a small pat on the shoulder, Cloud left to leave the two alone. Although she had countless questions, she couldn't find it in herself to ask them. The adrenalin has worn off, and even though she was hurt that Lightning would go behind her back and do something like this, she still cared. There had to be a reason; Tifa tried to convince herself of it. Lightning always had a reason. They didn't say anything to each other, and Tifa spent the remaining time simply watching her. Lightning, though, didn't even look at her. Not once. Instead, she chose to focus her attention to the ground as if it were the greatest mystery in the world.

Alright! So here's Tifa's side of the story.

Heads up! Next chapter will start with a flashback from immediately after chapter 77 and before chapter 78 from Fictus Memoriae. Thanks for reading!